Muzzle cover



March 20, 1951 G K EMKA 2,545,473

MUZZLE COVER Filed April 30, 1945 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Mar. 20, 1951 MUZZLE COVER George A. Kremkau, United States Army, Silver Spring, Md.

Application April 30, 1945, Serial No. 591,043

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) '2 Claims.

The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a cover for the muzzle of a firearm and more especially to a light and inexpensive device of the character mentioned adapted for application to the muzzle of a firearm for closing the same to exclude dirt and moisture from the bore thereof.

Great dificulty has been encountered in providing a means for protecting firearms against damage caused by the entrance of dirt and moisture into the bore through the open muzzle thereof.

In an effort to keep firearms at all times in clean and efficient condition for effective firin objects such as wads of cotton, pieces of cloth or plugs or wood are often inserted in the muzzle thereof to exclude dirt and moisture. Such devices while effective for the purpose, frequently render the weapon dangerous to fire by reason of the blockage of the bore, and their removal is a time consuming factor whole elimination is of great importance under combat conditions.

It is an object of the invention to provide a muzzle cover for firearms, effective to exclude dirt and moisture from the bore thereof and which in emergency can be fired through without involving unusual risk.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a muzzle cover of simple design and rugged construction, capable of being quickly attached and removed from the weapon, and which will be securely held thereon without in any way interfering with the sighting or firing of the weapon should it be necessary to bring the same into use without removal of the cover.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a muzzle cover which is capable of being produced in large quantities at little expense and which can withstand the rough usage to which such an object is likely to be subjected.

The above and other objects of invention are accomplished by the provision of a muzzle cover of plastic or similar material of cylindrical shape, closed at one end, open at the other, provided with means for the projection therethrough of the front sight blade of the weapon, and having a slightly constricted portion at the open end to provide a secure gripping of the muzzle by the cover when in position thereon.

The invention will be understood from the following description constituting a specification of 2 the prefered embodiment of the same together with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the muzzle cover.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

As illustrated in the drawings, the muzzle cover comprises a cylindrical body i having a closed end 2 and an open longitudinal slot 3 at the opposite open end #1. At the closed end 2- the cylindrical body is of a diameter to fit easily on the end 5 of the muzzle of a weapon 6 such as a rifle, having a sight blade I located near the end of the muzzle. At its mid-portion the body I is slightly enlarged as at 8 to permit the same to fit over the ferrule portion ill of the front sight of the weapon, which is of somewhat larger diameter than the muzzle thereof, and beyond the portion 8 toward the open end of the body I the same is slightly constricted to provide inturned flange ll adapted to engage the weapon 6 behind the rear edge [2 of ferrule H] to securely hold the cover in place over the muzzle of the weapon. The solt 3 is of a width to freely admit the sight blade 1 when the cover is in position, and is sufficiently long to permit the closed end 2 to engage the end of the muzzle before the sight blade engages the closed end of the slot 3.

The cover is preferably formed of thin plastic material of a sulficiently flexible nature to enable its restricted open end to be expanded in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of slot 3, to permit the cover to pass over the portion In of the front sight and to snap into place behind the rear edge l2 thereof.

In placing the cover in position on the weapon the open end 4 is pressed over the end of the muzzle. The resiliency of the material permitting the same to expand and pass over the portion H] of the front sight with the blade 1 thereof entering the slot 3. When the closed end 2 of the cover comes into contact with the muzzle, the contracted portion ll of the open end 4 will be claspingly engaged behind the portion l2 thus securely holding the cover in place.

The cover may be easily and quickly slipped off the muzzle preparatory to firing the weapon by merely pulling the cover straight off the end of the muzzle, the contracted portion l I being thereby expanded to pass over the portion Ill, or in an emergency the weapon may be sighted with the muzzle cover still in position thereon, the material of the same being of such thin character as vides a muzzle cover which will be effective under all conditions to exclude dirt and moisture from the bore 'o'fthe Weapon, and whichofierszno :substantial obstruction tothe firing o'f thesa-me, thus affording a means for keeping the weapon at all times in the most efiicient condition for use.

Having thus clearly shown and described the invention, what is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A muzzle cover for firearm, said firearm'liaving a barrel and a front sight structure, said front sight structure comprising a ferrule 'o'nsai'd over the muzzle end .portion :of said barrel and over said ferrule and exposing said sight blade, when ds'aid muzzle cover in place on said firearm, and the open end of saidmuzzlecover being distensible in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal'axis of said slot to facilitate manual placement of said muzzle cover on said firearm and removal of said muzzle cover from said firearm.

2. A muzzle cover according to claim 1, wherein said flexible resilient shape-sustaining material plastic.

GEORGE A.

REFERENCES CITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,229,991 McGavisk June 12, 1917 1,376,320 Crowe Apr. 26-, 1921 1,560,322 Roberts Nov. 3, 1925 2385051 Berlin-e17 a1 Sept. 18, 1945 2,465,163 Lockwood Mar. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS :Nu'mber Country Date 25,822 Germany r t h v Febrf5, 1884 90,531 Germany Feb. 4, 1897 361,315 France Apr. 2, 1906 26,041 Sweden 'Nov. 17, 1906 114,973 Great-Britain 1915 72,181 Switzerland .;Apr. .17, 1916 12,087 Great Britain 'June 8, 1916 325,049 Germany "Sept. 8, 1920 87,397 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1920 576,761 Germany Aug.26, 1933 

